Hello All,

I recently picked up an 89 CRX Si with a SOHC ZC engine in it. I have noticed a couple things about how the car is running and wanted some advice from the knowledgeable folks on this forum.

The first thing I noticed was regarding the spark plugs. The first thing I did when I bought the car was change out the plugs, wires and fuel filter. When I swapped out the plugs, I noticed the electrode was an odd color. It had almost a bronze/rust color to the electrode. This bronze/rust color was almost caked onto the electrode of the plug and did not look right at all. It was neither white, brown or black like most plugs look.

The next thing I noticed is the car seems to smell of gas, like it either has a small gas leak or it is running rich. I checked for a leak and I was not able to find one anywhere.

The last thing I noticed was regarding the exhaust. The exhaust is smokier than normal. Its not a black smoke, its a white smoke. At first I thought it was a headgasket issue, but I did a compression test and all 4 cylinders came back between 165-180psi. I do not have access to a leakdown tester at this time.

Another thing I noticed about the exhaust is there seems to be the same bronze/rust color in the tailpipe. It looks to be the same color as the residue I noticed on the spark plugs. I have tried searching Google images and this forum for the culprit, but I cannot find any pictures that resemble what I am seeing.

Can anyone help me understand what is going on with the engine?
Thanks!
-CJ